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6 Ways to Maintain Customer Relationships

In the world of business, marketing to a potential audience and attempting to get new leads is one of the best ways to grow your business. If you truly want to be successful with your company, however, leveraging your current customers and getting the most out of them is the most cost-effective scheme in the long run.

So how do you keep your existing customers happy and satisfied while still trying to be on the hunt for new sources of business and revenue? Here are a few helpful tips and tricks to follow.

Outstanding Customer Service

Your current clients and customers came to your for a reason. Whether they liked your business model, you offered a cost which fell into their desired price range, or had the exact products they were looking for, what you had to offer was appealing to them and they chose your business.

Now they have been with your for quite a while and you may be wondering how you can keep them interested and remind them why they have stuck with you over time. One of the best ways to do this is by offering exceptional and unrivaled customer service.

Keep communication open and consistent with your clients and customers whenever you can to help foster the customer service-driven atmosphere you are after. When they have questions, concerns, or comments about something, be sure you answer them and try and solve their problem as best you can in a timely fashion. The quicker you are to respond and more available you are, the more the client will trust you and know you care about their business.

Be Honest and Open

No one wants to deal with a company who simply puts on a facade and gives you a bunch of numbers to try and sound successful or ease your worries. As a business, it is vital you stay transparent with your clients about what is going on with the work you have going on with them in order to keep the trust level high.

Whether you are conversing with them via email or having face to face meetings on a regular basis, being genuine with them will take you a long way in the success and reliability of your brand.

Be Personal

This one almost goes hand in hand with being honest and open and avoiding looking like a fake to your clients and customers. If you simply send mass emails to your clients in your communication tools, they can quickly be turned off to your company and can potentially begin looking for alternatives to take their business to.

If you make a personal connection with your clients, however, and continue to maintain and strengthen the relationship, you can reap the benefits in the long run. When sending out emails, be sure to address them by their name and avoid bulk email talk. If you prefer a more personal and direct route, it never hurts to call up a client on the phone or meet with them one on one to discuss problems or topics. The more you get to know your client, the better it will serve you in the long run of keeping business with them.

Offer Rewards

Loyalty can be a difficult thing to come by in the business world today, so acknowledging those specific clients who do exhibit this unique loyalty to your company is a great way to keep them on for even longer.

So how do you acknowledge their loyalty? Rewards programs are a great way to accomplish this and can come in the form of a variety of different services, products, and more. Discounts for those who have been on for a certain amount of time is an excellent strategy to implement which can lead to even more sales and conversions with these clients.

The better deals you can offer to your existing customers through discounts and reward point programs, the better your relationship can be with them in the long run.

Meet Their Needs

It can be easy to simply market your company and consistently tell your clients what products and services you have to offer them. What if they aren’t looking for any of those services you are offering? Finding out the specifics from your client will make you look more personal and intentional about solving their problems rather than looking like you are only trying to make the sale.

One of the best ways to find out what your clients are actually looking for is sending them a survey of questions to see what problems they are dealing with. Finding out specifics will help you expand your horizons and be able to better help them.

This is also a great place to have your existing clients make suggestions for how you can evolve and further your growth. By getting an outsider’s perspective, you may be able to broaden the scope of products and services you have to offer.

Encourage Referrals

Keeping your existing clients is crucial to your company’s success, but it is also vital you bring in new leads when you can. By combining both of these elements together, you can let your client’s do some lead search work for you, and keep them happy with rewards.

By implementing a reward service for when referrals come in through your current clients will both help you grow your business, but keep those customers happy with discount or other deal making it worthwhile to them.

With so many different ways to go the extra mile in helping those loyal to you, this should be near the top of your list of marketing strategies.

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About Anthony Randall

Tony Randall is the head of the link building team at Rizolt Marketing. When he's not helping his clients improve their organic search performance, he enjoys playing music, eating pizza and exploring outdoor Idaho.

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